The full run down of dates can be found here.

Last week, Flightline UK was privileged to be invited to join the SWIP Team to photograph the team’s visit to the Bahrain International Airshow. As a precursor to the main review, I look back at the Bahrain experience!

A dull dark damp working day doesn’t usually get me excited, though Wednesday 18th January was a slightly different story. Rather the ending the day with the same old usual slog to get away from the outer reaches of South London to the sanctuary of the North Downs, I instead headed north to London Heathrow and to my first airshow of 2012.

For the second time, the Kingdom of Bahrain is hosting it’s own take on an International Airshow. The event which is primarily a trade event is held in partnership with Farnborough International which itself takes places later this year.

The airshow was big news in Bahrain. The Airport was been decorated with all sorts of promotional banners for the event which even stretched to a complete make over of the immigration desks! I arrived via Bahrain’s state owned airline, Gulf Air, and was treated to all sorts of video highlights of the 2010 show on the overnight flight from Heathrow.

If that wasn’t enough,I think almost every lamp-post on Bahrain’s roads had a Bahrain Airshow flag alongside the national flag on it or a 6ft high poster advertising the event! Added to that there were numerous bill-boards around Manama.

Manama may not be as iconic as Dubai, but sports an impressive skyline with some dramatic skyscrapers. Bahrain is something of a melting pot of eastern and western culture is one of the Middle East’s most liberal states. Today it is a financial centre and upto 2011 had being growing at a fantastic rate. One thing that immediately strikes you about the Bahrain population is just how polite, friendly and helpful they are when you meet them. However, the local driving skills are perhaps a little less friendly and at times insanely dangerous! It is amazing the trust they have that they will make ‘that gap’ or the cars around them won’t be swerving between lanes as much as them!!! Add in some heavy traffic and chaos ensues with the sides of the roads suddenly become extra lanes or secret short cuts!

However Bahrain is a beautiful part of the Middle Eastl The country is actually an archipelago of 33 islands and tourism is a major part of the countries economy. Major international events are a very important boost to Bahrain tourism plans and the country take great pride in it’s airshow and it’s annual F1 Grand Prix. All of Gulf Air’s fleet have recently received markings advertising the Formula 1 Grand Prix which returns to the Kingdom after a years absence from the F1 calendar.

The reason for that absence was the Arab Spring uprisings. The fact that Bahrain became one of the countries to such such protests came as a surprise to many casual observers and despite changes being promised and implemented by the countries government tensions remain and small protests occur regularly. Though protests were banned in the area of Sakhir, protesters did try and make visual protests by burning tyres and creating large black clouds to the north of the airfield. These fires tended to occur less frequently as the show progressed.

However, this did not take away from the very warm welcome everyone enjoyed at the show from the visitors to the international display crews. I have to say it was an incredibly friendly atmosphere for a trade show. As with many places in the Middle East, the scale and quality of the Sakhir airbase impressed. The base for the lighter acts was the immense hangars for the Bahraini Royal Flight designed to accommodate two Airbus A380s! The chalets are permanent structures and provide very high quality meeting and hospitality spaces. A very long way from the old white marquees at British Airshows!

The show site and layout was slightly strange. The Trade areas, which were only open to registered trade visitors were the centre of the action while the public were enclosed 1km in their own enclosure the other side of a major compound. T0 compensate they did get their own short display in the morning, but having taken a drive up there it seems that this part of the show was poorly communicated as the area was only just starting to opened!

An airshow outside of Europe is always going to promise some very exotic participants for seasoned UK enthusiasts. The Royal Bahrain Air Force maybe small, but it has an exciting array of aircraft. F-16s maybe a little familiar, but F-5 Tiger IIs, AH-1E Cobras and UH-60 Blackhawks are rare birds at airshows back home. Joining the line up were participants from the air arms of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States Air Force and Navy. Farnborough’s influence naturally brought in some UK talent. Mark Jefferies and the SWIP Team both brought in aircraft via shipping containers for the displays while the Red Devils were the sole representative of any British military at the show.

However,  the show stars were the Russian Knights making a very welcome and rare appearance outside of Russia with their four Sukhoi Su-27P Flankers. The Knights have been high on my own ‘most wanted’ list and I have to say they did not disappoint with some extremely close and dramatic flying in their imposing long range interceptors.

You may expect the weather to be extremely kind in the Middle East at this time of year, after all England are currently playing Pakistan in the UAE at the moment. However, life is never that simple and while the weather was pleasant for the majority of the time, the final day of the show on the Saturday saw a strong and very cold wind blow in from Iran whipping up the sand off the local topography. This was the “Winter Shamal” but fortunately, it was not quite as strong as forecast meaning the show went ahead but boy was it cold out on the airfield and at times, thoroughly unpleasant to be out in!  The display crews all put in some fine flying too to cope with the swirling sands and wind!

So to sum up Bahrain 2012. Well, despite a self-induced lack of sleep (I never did fully get round to Bahrain time!) it was a hugely enjoyable adventure watching some great flying in unusual, but very friendly surroundings. Huge thanks go to the SWIP Team for this amazing opportunity.

The RAF Tucano Display will be flown by by Flt Lt Jon Bond and the aircraft is currently recieving some ‘Diamond Jubilee’ markings. You can follow the team and the progress on their aircraft via:-

RAF Tucano Display Team Website

2012 Tucano Display on Facebook

The RAF Hawk T1 will be making it’s final appearances on the display circuit as a solo aircraft in 2012. The pilot for 2012 will be Flt Lt Philip Bird and RAF Valley are planning a special scheme for the final year of T1 solo displays. You can follow the team via:

RAF Hawk Display Team website

2012 RAF Hawk Display Team on Facebook

THE Red Arrows are set to thrill thousands at the Folkestone Jubilee Airshow, the Herald can reveal.

Accompanied by the Tiger Club Turbulent Display Team, a De Havilland Tiger Moth and a host of others, the iconic aircraft will soar above The Leas on Saturday, June 2, to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and as the centrepiece of this year’s celebrations.

The Herald – which is media sponsor to the event – reported last year that Folkestone Town Centre Management (FTCM) planned to hold a “grand festival” this year, to mark the Jubilee, the London Olympics and to celebrate everything Folkestone has to offer.

In August, we revealed that an airshow, not seen in Folkestone since 2003, was to return and now many of the participants have been confirmed.

Town centre manager John Barber said: “The first weekend in June is going to be very exciting.

“We’re just bringing the programme together now. At first, we just thought we’d just have a series of street parties, then the possibility of a small-scale airshow came up – and it’s taken off more than we originally thought.

“We’ve been confirmed in the national calendar, we’re going to take up all The Leas and the seafront – and we’ve got the Red Arrows.”

Also confirmed for the Saturday, between 1pm and 5pm, are a number of smaller display teams. On the morning of the same day, the Lower Leas Coastal Park will be transformed by schools, groups and businesses into a fete ground with stalls and activities.

The following day, the harbour area will be transformed to resemble Covent Garden, but with a 1950s theme, complete with rollerskating waitresses, musicians, actors and entertainers.

But the first weekend is only the start of a month of non-stop activity in Folkestone. The Multi Cultural Festival will be held on June 8 to 10, followed by the Charivari parade on June 16.

The following Saturday and Sunday will be a vintage-themed weekend and on June 30, a “last night of the Proms” concert will be held on The Leas, featuring the Kent Concert Orchestra.

Barbara Witham, from FTCM, said: “We hope to have half a dozen events every day in June. We’re looking at a wandering pub quiz, games like welly-throwing, an eating competition, a chilli and chocolate festival – there’s going to be something for everyone.

“I think this year is going to be wonderful. Folkestone will be amazing and amazed.”

Mr Barber added: “It’s thrilling. Folkestone was always known as a festival town and we want to recreate that so whenever people come, there’s always something going on.

“Whether the airshow will bring money into the local economy, we don’t know but we’ve been told that with the Red Arrows, and the Vulcan which we could have, we’re talking about 100,000 to 200,000 people.

“Hopefully the retailers will embrace it, and the rest of the festivals, and we can bring the feel-good factor back to Folkestone.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring the airshow should call FTCM on 01303 850522 or e-mail eventioneventslimited@gmail.com, a new Folkestone company which has carried out much of the work organising the show for the weekend.

For the Jubilee weekend, FTCM hopes as many people as possible will be involved.

It has asked tenants of the Creative Quarter to consider joining in the fun by displaying themed artwork or creations in windows and possibly working alongside the weekend’s activities.

The organisers also hope to hear from street performers, including mime artists, jugglers, singers, clowns, stilt-walkers, musicians and singers.

Any new ideas, suggestions or offers of help, for that particular weekend or any other, should be e-mailed to eventioneventslimited@gmail.com or call FTCM.

However, it is perhaps time to think aviation in terms of the displays that will grace Shoreham’s skies in September. The first few acts have started making enquiries and sending in quotes for consideration by the flying display sub-committee while we wait for the all important military allocations to be made public.

As touched on in the last blog the central theme will the 100th Anniversary of the Central Flying School and that does open up some possibilities for some interesting types for the flying and static displays. One recent addition to the display circuit does catch the eye but we will have to see if budget and logistics fall into place.  Feedback from last years show highlighted a lack of jets and we’re certainly determined to remedy that shortcoming. It is actually a tough problem to solve as military air arms are cutting back their airshow participation quite significantly – for example to the Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 will only likely attend 10 events during the 2012 season. It will therefore fall to the expensive classic jets to fill the void and a whole spectrum of jets will be looked at inside and outside of the CFS theme.

Balancing the flying display is key to a successful event and there will be the usual mix of entertaining civilian acts and warbirds in the show. Also, I hope there may one or two aircraft appearing that will be a little out of the ordinary!

An all important part of running an airshow is organising accommodation from all the display crews which is another aspect of the show that is planned well in advance. One of the unexpected bonuses of moving the airshow date has been that despite losing one of the usual aircrew hotels (it was closed over the winter) the event no longer clashes with an bowls tournament in nearby Worthing! It is often surprising just how many external influences there are when running large events such as airshows!

One item of news we can reveal is that as well as the airshow, we are planning a special event for anyone interested in photography to be held on the evening of 18th April. Renowned air to air photographer Geoffrey Lee (Planefocus) will be giving a special presentation on his years as a photographer for British Aerospace and various military air arms. Keep an eye on the Shoreham Airshow website for details in the near future!

Tickets for this year’s show can be bought from the airshow website: Please visit http://tickets.shorehamairshow.co.uk for more details.

Team Viper announced via it’s facebook site that it was not continuing into 2012. Ever since it’s inception on the BAC Strikemaster in 2009, Viper have been a impressive addition to the display circuit.The team performed at major events throughout Europe such as the Sanicole Airshow, the Royal Netherlands Air Force Open Dagen, Royal International Air Tattoo and the Biggin Hill International Air Fair. 2010 saw the team ‘evolve’ onto the much more potent Hawker Hunter, first presenting a mixed fourship of two Hunters joined by two Strikemasters before  a full fourship of Hunters was presented at RAF Leuchars and Sanicole Airshows that year. The team even ventured further afield to the Middle East performing at the Bahrain International Air Show, Al Ain Aerobatics Show and the Abu Dhabi round of Red Bull Air Race World Series.

Team Viper’s news was quickly followed by news from France that the French Air Force Alpha Jet solo was to be stood down. France is facing up to military cutbacks as are the majority of European Air Forces and it is likely the Alpha Jet will not be only ‘airshow favourite’ to be axed in these austere times. The French Air Force Alpha Jet solos have been amongst the best military solo displays on the circuit highlighting the impressive aerobatic performance of the Franco-German designed trainers. The French Air Force solo demo last performed in the UK at the Duxford Airshow 2011 in September though it was due to appear at the fog-bound Jersey International Air Display a week later. It is a sad loss to airshows across Europe and now means the only operators of the Alpha Jet on the airshow circuit will be Patruoille de France and the civilian Flying Bulls examples.

Both displays will be greatly missed by organisers and enthusiasts. However both reflect the difficulties faced by displays teams and air arms in balancing budget in these difficult times.

Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose has announced that it will not be holding its annual Air Day in 2012. Planned resurfacing works to the Culdrose runway leave the base unable to host large numbers of visiting aircraft during the summer. This factor, combined with Operational commitments across the globe and at home with the 2012 Olympics, means it will not be feasible for the base to man the event. The Air Day Team has however already started to prepare for the next Air Day event, planned for the summer of 2013.

Commanding Officer of Culdrose, Captain Willie Entwisle said: “As a Military Air Station, with Squadrons supporting the Royal Navy worldwide, Operational commitments have forced the decision that it will not be possible for Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose to deliver an Air Day in 2012. This is due to several factors, but mainly the fact that from Easter to October this year we have to resurface the taxiways to our main runway. Also, during the summer, a great many of our personnel will be deployed on frontline operations across the globe and of course providing support to the London 2012 Olympic Games.”

“Air Day is a very important event in the Culdrose calendar, therefore the decision has involved much deliberation and we appreciate that many will be disappointed with this news. Our relationship with the local community is very important to us, and we hope that we will still be able to meet many local residents at the various other Cornish events that we are involved in. In the meantime, my team has started working towards developing an Air Day for the summer of 2013.”

Changes in general for the show will be announced during 2012.  This will include more ground attractions linked to airside ground activity. The Flying Programme will be re-vamped and a specific Flying Display Committee under Display Director Peter Eager has been set up to evaluate new displaysfor the Airshow.

The 2011 show was a great success both weather and attendance wise but the overheads in running anevent this size with the increased costs of fuel has meant that the organising committee have had to look at their total spend to maximise costs to bring in a different yet more appealing show for those attending whilst keeping ticket prices low.

Tickets for this year’s show are already on sale from the Shoreham Airshow Website.

Shoreham Airshow 2011 DVD Cover

Produced by Planes TV; Available from PlanesTV.com priced £16.99 DVD, £24.99 Blu-Ray

The August Summer Holidays see plenty of airshow action along the South Coast. One of the most well loved airshows is that held at Shoreham Airport is aid of the Royal Air Forces Association. The show has not had a souvenir DVD produced for a number of years so it is good to see Planes TV finally produce one for the 2011 show which enjoyed much better weather than in previous years.

The DVD follows Planes TV’s new approach to DVD production using audio recordings of the actual show commentator rather than a commentary recording in a studio after the event. For the most part it works very well recording the atmosphere of the day much more comprehensively.

One of the great features of Shoreham Airshow is the brilliant backdrop of Lancing College and the South Downs and these feature well in the filming. As you would expect from Planes TV the filming of the displays is very competent. Obvious highlights come from the on-board footage from the Great War Display Team, the Pitts Pair, T-6 Texan and the rare four-ship display by the Breitling Wingwalkers which is featured in expanded form in the special features section of this DVD.

Another highlight is the Sea Vixen display -- it’s final pass with water vapour exploding off the top surfaces of the wings was one of the visual highlights of the entire airshow season!

As ever, this DVD offers great coverage of the event -- a perfect souvenir from the event.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=52OznaY2ANE

Amongst the first confirmed participants so far are a World War Two P51 Mustang and World War Two Hurricane as part of the Flying Displays, the Hurricane hopping over from its base at North Moreton, Didcot, owned by Peter Vacher. Military participants are being allocated over the coming few months.

On the Ground, varied Arena Displays are being sought, Rock guitarist Rick Chase will be returning, and it is hoped once again one of the locally based Formula One teams will be providing a showcar statically amongst other attractions. There will be a small Static aircraft area also featuring around 40 types, including the United States Army Blackhawk helicopter based in Belgium,and hopefully RAF Benson based Merlin & Puma helicopters, frequent users of the airfield, subject to operations.

The 2011 event raised £8,075.00 for the Air Ambulance Trust after essential running costs were paid for, but the Organiser Neil Porter is hoping this total can be matched in 2012.
The show has raised £23,075.63 for the Air Ambulance since 2007, and a further £14,000 from 2001 – 2006 for the Oxford based Helen & Douglas House Respite Centres.

Advance Tickets will be on sale from 1st Febuary at selected local Tourist Information Centres and online from our website via paypal – www.abingdonfayre.com

On the day prices are Adults £15, Senior Citizens £10, Child 5-15yrs £5, Under 5s Free

ONE of the world’s top aerobatics teams has pledged to perform for free at Clacton Air Show next year – if people dig deep for charity.

The Blades, who are all former Red Arrows pilots, will take to the skies over the town if 20 people can each raise £2,000 for the RAF Association’s Wings Appeal.

In return fundraisers will get the chance of a lifetime to fly in formation with The Blades at their home base in Northamptonshire.

Tendring Council leisure boss Stephen Mayzes said it was a groundbreaking proposal.

“The Blades appear regularly at the event and are one of our top attractions,” he said.

“To get them appearing for free would be a major boost, while also raising money for the Wings Appeal and it seemed well worth pursuing with them.”

Anyone can take part, but the minimum age to fly with the Blades is 12 and under-18s will need their parents’ consent.

Anyone interested in joining the Blades in the air should email Blades@rafa.org.uk or call 0116 268 8763.

Officials at the Old Buckenham Airfield revealed this year that they would not be staging a day of aviation displays after 11 years of organising a charity airshow at the former second world war base.

However, the new management at the airfield said the Old Buckenham Airshow would be returning in 2012 with an event on Sunday, June 24. As in previous years, the show is being held to raise funds for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), which has a base at nearby Quidenham.

Officials from the Touchdown Aero Centre, which operates the airfield, said the airshow would offer displays from perennially popular vintage aircraft to the latest in modern aerobatic machines. The event will also feature a fairground, military static and vintage agricultural displays.

Claire LeLievre, EACH Norfolk fundraiser, said: “We’re delighted to hear that the popular Old Buckenham Airshow will return again next year. Here at EACH we rely upon voluntary donations for the majority of our income, which is why support from events such as the Old Buckenham Airshow are so important to us. All funds raised will allow us to provide care and support to local life-threatened children and their families.”

Organisers are also eager to hear from steam, military and classic vehicle owners who can display their cars with a parade on the runway. All exhibitors will be given free tickets to the event.

Tickets, which will be £12 per person, and £6 for 16s and under, will go on sale online from January 15.

For further information, call 01953 860 806, email airfield@oldbuck.com or visit the website at www.oldbuckenhamairshow.co.uk

Bournemouth Air Festival 2011 DVD

Produced by Hallmark Productions; Available from Hallmark Productions priced £16.79

The Bournemouth Air Festival 2011 was one of the most outstanding events of airshow season. Following a very, very damp Thursday which led to the cancellation of the day’s activities, the following three days saw some outstanding weather with the flying displays enjoyed by huge crowds. Sadly as many of you will know, the event hit the national headlines following the fatal Red Arrows accident that occurred as the team recovered to Bournemouth Airport following their display on the Saturday.

Since the event first started in 2008, the event has been well supported by Hallmark Productions who not only produce the souvenir DVD, but also provide a number of video clips for the Air Festival’s own YouTube channel.

The flying displays are covered in great depth, particularly compared with some other airshow DVDs which sometimes only give a few seconds of airtime to some displays. Coverage is also very complete with every act covered in the main feature except the Red Arrows. The filming of the flying displays is superb with not only some superb image quality and clarity, but also a pleasing number of different angles. The film crews have taken full advantage of Bournemouth’s wonderful seafront venue and there is also plenty of brilliant mini-cam footage from in the cockpit and mounted all over various aircraft.

The main commentary is provided by Brendan O’Brien, but impressively many of the displays feature commentary from the pilots involved. Much of this has been recorded after the event, some of which has been done via Skype and provides a fascinating insight to the displays and how they are performed which means you can forgive a slight drop in sound quality.

However, what I find most impressive are the many bonus features. Perhaps the most notable is coverage of the Red Arrows display on the Saturday which is present minus commentary which is very poignant. There are some extended interviews with airshow personalities such as Paul Bonhomme, Brendan O’Brien and Jonathon Whaley and the RAF pilots. Another feature which also stands out is a time-lapse sequence of the seafront which shows the incredible scale of the event.

The Red Arrows accident clearly made coverage of the Bournemouth Air Festival very difficult, but Hallmark have produced a wonderful reminder of a truly great event!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hfjEXyf87g